Fubo CEO Rips Disney-WBD-Fox Sports Streaming Venture: Media Companies’ Practices Are ‘Borderline Racketeering’ by a ‘Cartel’

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Fubo chief David Gandler took the gloves off in lambasting the joint venture formed by Disney, Warner Bros.

Discovery and Fox Corp. — reiterating claims that anticompetitive actions by the big media companies has cost sports-centric streaming provider Fubo billions of dollars in damages.

Gandler, Fubo’s co-founder and CEO, told analysts on the streamer’s Q4 2023 earnings call Friday that the joint venture, targeted to launch later in 2024, is “attempt to monopolize the sports streaming industry and eliminate competition.” Last week, Fubo filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Disney, Fox and WBD, alleging that the companies (together with Disney’s ESPN and Hulu) have “engaged in a years-long campaign to block Fubo’s innovative sports-first streaming business resulting in significant harm to both Fubo and consumers.” Fubo also said it seeks “substantial” monetary damages but its complaint did not specify an amount. “Their proposed venture is, we believe, just the latest example of this sports cartel’s attempt to block and steal Fubo’s vision of what a sports-streaming bundle should look like, resulting in billions of dollars in damages to our business,” Gandler said on the earnings call. “We consider the defendants’ pernicious contractual terms and other anticompetitive practices borderline racketeering.” Gandler claimed Disney, WBD and Fox Corp.

charge Fubo programming fees that are 30%-50% higher than other distributors. If Fubo had received the same rates as Hulu, Comcast, Charter or DirecTV Stream, the company’s results could have been even better, he asserted.